Why this assumption that the knicks will face the celtics?

[knicks94]

Why are we worried about winning in the playoffs when at best this is a 2nd round team? For those who are anti Thibs shouldn't you be more concerned about what puts us in the best position to fire this guy?

I don't roll like that. It would soften the pain of losing though if it cost Thibs his job. So..win/win in the end. We can root for wins and hope for the best. If we lose and Thibs gets fired...we still win. I guess.

I would treat next season like a waste if Thibs is brought back. I don't want to see him back after how much we underacheived this season. Losing in the first round would put him on the hot seat after all the sacrifices that were made to improve this roster in the offseason. A second round appearance could extend his stay for at least the beginning of 2025-26.

[Nostrand Ave]

I’m on the record Pistons in 5

Pistons in 6

[Luv those Knicks]

Why are we worried about winning in the playoffs when at best this is a 2nd round team? For those who are anti Thibs shouldn't you be more concerned about what puts us in the best position to fire this guy?

I don't roll like that. It would soften the pain of losing though if it cost Thibs his job. So..win/win in the end. We can root for wins and hope for the best. If we lose and Thibs gets fired...we still win. I guess.

I would treat next season like a waste if Thibs is brought back. I don't want to see him back after how much we underacheived this season. Losing in the first round would put him on the hot seat after all the sacrifices that were made to improve this roster in the offseason. A second round appearance could extend his stay for at least the beginning of 2025-26.

I think there are some unknowns. I do think, with I-Hart and Randle and DDV, NY felt like a tougher team last year with a better shot at making the finals, at least, when healthy than they feel like now. Had NY been healthy last year, it might have been a more interesting ride. But, injuries happen.

Leon/Dolan are going to see how far this crew goes in the playoffs. Then in the off-season, they're going to make decisions on who to trade and how to improve the team. It's not all Thibs. it's also not the best chemistry. We've seen this on other teams, it happens all the time. The team has talent but they don't have the right combination of players. Leon is going to try to address that and part of addressing that might be a new coach, but . . . I don't know. I don't know what to predict or expect and maybe Leon doesn't even know until he sees the Knicks in the playoffs this year.

I think Mitch probably gets traded. I like Mitch, but injuries are a concern, and he's got a friendly contract and that makes him perhaps, tradable. Mikal could get traded.

I'm a one step at a time fan though. I don't care how they looked tonight, or against Boston or how they looked without Brunson (some good, some bad). I care what they do in the playoffs. After that, I'll care what team building moves Leon makes and, like many here, I'd like a new coach, but playoffs first.

I don't agree with the 2 teams that have fired their coaches just weeks before the playoffs start. But what do I know. Maybe that's going to be a new NBA trend.

[HopelessKnick]

Thibs is a regular season coach. He puts all his eggs there for job security it seems.

And the pistons would be a bad match up. Young legs. Tough center and vets. I think it's 50/50 we get out of the first round with thibs, especially if we look ahead as if playing the celtics is a given. And we aren't that much better than the pistons 5 on 5

Not really worried about the Pistons outside of the potential of brawl or injury. They will probably wear us down. Knicks in 5 or 6, but we might finish the series out a starter.

Celtics are literally the only team in the league I worry about. I feel like we can handle anyone and everyone else. This assuming we are healthy. Mitch is going to the real playoff MVP.

OKC >> Celtics and you will witness it in the finals.

[LookToShoot]

I think tanking for the 4 seed is a bad move. 1. Only cowards do that and 2. Bucks have Portis back and are playing good ball.

I’d rather face the Celtics sooner than later. The Heat are still their boogeyman and they could end up playing them in the first round.

[nykballa2k4]

Thibs is a regular season coach. He puts all his eggs there for job security it seems.

And the pistons would be a bad match up. Young legs. Tough center and vets. I think it's 50/50 we get out of the first round with thibs, especially if we look ahead as if playing the celtics is a given. And we aren't that much better than the pistons 5 on 5

Not really worried about the Pistons outside of the potential of brawl or injury. They will probably wear us down. Knicks in 5 or 6, but we might finish the series out a starter.

Celtics are literally the only team in the league I worry about. I feel like we can handle anyone and everyone else. This assuming we are healthy. Mitch is going to the real playoff MVP.

OKC >> Celtics and you will witness it in the finals.

Thunder strength is their depth and SGA.
When the refs didn't give SGA his whistle, Lakers beat them with ease.

Still probably the best in the West, but a complete Celtics team is built perfectly to exploit us.

[thebuzzardman]

I’m on the record Pistons in 5

Pistons in 6

Pistons in 4

[Jalen Bluntson]

I think tanking for the 4 seed is a bad move. 1. Only cowards do that and 2. Bucks have Portis back and are playing good ball.

I’d rather face the Celtics sooner than later. The Heat are still their boogeyman and they could end up playing them in the first round.

We beat up on Milwaukee when they had Lillard. I'm not afraid of them at all. I think resting the main rotation players is far more important than anything else. If we win the Brooklyn game doing that we lock up the #3 if we don't win the next two and slip to 4 as result, so what. As long as the players are healing up and getting ready for the playoffs. We need all hands on deck for the next 16 playoff games.

[HopelessKnick]

Not really worried about the Pistons outside of the potential of brawl or injury. They will probably wear us down. Knicks in 5 or 6, but we might finish the series out a starter.

Celtics are literally the only team in the league I worry about. I feel like we can handle anyone and everyone else. This assuming we are healthy. Mitch is going to the real playoff MVP.

OKC >> Celtics and you will witness it in the finals.

Thunder strength is their depth and SGA.
When the refs didn't give SGA his whistle, Lakers beat them with ease.

Still probably the best in the West, but a complete Celtics team is built perfectly to exploit us.

Unfortunately due to Nico Harrison's "brilliance" he has put the Lakers again in a position to be a juggernaut. When you have Lebron who is still a top 10 scorer and facilitator in this league team up with Doncic, they will obviously create tons of open looks for their teammates. The reason the Lakers won is because they were literally hitting every conceivable 3-pointer in the first half and beyond to open up a 25point lead. The Lakers at one point were 15 of 20 from 3. And we were in the first half still. That's the reason OKC lost. They didn't defend well and the Lakers were hitting everything anyways.

SGA didn't get the whistle but that was just a very minor part of it.

[Luv those Knicks]

I’m on the record Pistons in 5

Pistons in 6

Pistons in 4

I don't see that at all. NY is way too talented. Even if they lose the series, they'll win a few.

[knicks94]

OKC >> Celtics and you will witness it in the finals.

Thunder strength is their depth and SGA.
When the refs didn't give SGA his whistle, Lakers beat them with ease.

Still probably the best in the West, but a complete Celtics team is built perfectly to exploit us.

Unfortunately due to Nico Harrison's "brilliance" he has put the Lakers again in a position to be a juggernaut. When you have Lebron who is still a top 10 scorer and facilitator in this league team up with Doncic, they will obviously create tons of open looks for their teammates. The reason the Lakers won is because they were literally hitting every conceivable 3-pointer in the first half and beyond to open up a 25point lead. The Lakers at one point were 15 of 20 from 3. And we were in the first half still. That's the reason OKC lost. They didn't defend well and the Lakers were hitting everything anyways.

SGA didn't get the whistle but that was just a very minor part of it.

If the Lakers don't win it this season they definitely will next season after Jokic teams up with Lebron and Luka.

[whocares1]

I think tanking for the 4 seed is a bad move. 1. Only cowards do that and 2. Bucks have Portis back and are playing good ball.

I’d rather face the Celtics sooner than later. The Heat are still their boogeyman and they could end up playing them in the first round.

I mean the Knicks competed last season for the 2 seed with the same logic and still lost to the Pacers in 7. There’s honestly nothing wrong with playing for the 4th seed. Knicks just need Brunson to be 100% and we should be good to go.

[HopelessKnick]

Thunder strength is their depth and SGA.
When the refs didn't give SGA his whistle, Lakers beat them with ease.

Still probably the best in the West, but a complete Celtics team is built perfectly to exploit us.

Unfortunately due to Nico Harrison's "brilliance" he has put the Lakers again in a position to be a juggernaut. When you have Lebron who is still a top 10 scorer and facilitator in this league team up with Doncic, they will obviously create tons of open looks for their teammates. The reason the Lakers won is because they were literally hitting every conceivable 3-pointer in the first half and beyond to open up a 25point lead. The Lakers at one point were 15 of 20 from 3. And we were in the first half still. That's the reason OKC lost. They didn't defend well and the Lakers were hitting everything anyways.

SGA didn't get the whistle but that was just a very minor part of it.

If the Lakers don't win it this season they definitely will next season after Jokic teams up with Lebron and Luka.

Unfortunately there is a chance this could happen although I highly doubt it. Jokic is due for the supermax extension and he can get it only in Denver. And the Lakers could really only offer a pretty lousy deal to Denver. Like Reeves + Hachimura + 1 FRP is the best deal they could offer. If Jokic asks out and becomes available I would think multiple teams would be easily able to top that offer.

[thebuzzardman]

Pistons in 6

Pistons in 4

I don't see that at all. NY is way too talented. Even if they lose the series, they'll win a few.

Team is soft, coach sucks. Knicks not making it out of round 1

[thebuzzardman]

Knicks aren’t tanking. They are staggering into the playoffs like most Thibs teams

[nykballa2k4]

OKC >> Celtics and you will witness it in the finals.

Thunder strength is their depth and SGA.
When the refs didn't give SGA his whistle, Lakers beat them with ease.

Still probably the best in the West, but a complete Celtics team is built perfectly to exploit us.

Unfortunately due to Nico Harrison's "brilliance" he has put the Lakers again in a position to be a juggernaut. When you have Lebron who is still a top 10 scorer and facilitator in this league team up with Doncic, they will obviously create tons of open looks for their teammates. The reason the Lakers won is because they were literally hitting every conceivable 3-pointer in the first half and beyond to open up a 25point lead. The Lakers at one point were 15 of 20 from 3. And we were in the first half still. That's the reason OKC lost. They didn't defend well and the Lakers were hitting everything anyways.

SGA didn't get the whistle but that was just a very minor part of it.

There are down-stream impacts of 0-0 FT for a guy who averages 9 attempts per game. Obviously cuts into his scoring, his FG%. Also increases fast-break opportunities, chances to play against a non-set defense. Also, no one in foul trouble means the defenders can play with max aggression rather than having to play more conservatively.

Lakers have better odds of losing in the 1st round against any opponent than they do of making the NBA finals.

[knicks94]

There are 5 teams other than the Knicks with a guaranteed playoff spot in the East. Three of those teams are more than capable of beating the Knicks in 5 games.

[thebuzzardman]

There are 5 teams other than the Knicks with a guaranteed playoff spot in the East. Three of those teams are more than capable of beating the Knicks in 5 games.

Every team that makes the playoffs can beat the Knicks. It’s just if they need 4,5,6 or 7 games. Knicks will not get out of the first round. Team composition is weird and Thibs has zero imagination

[knicks94]

There are 5 teams other than the Knicks with a guaranteed playoff spot in the East. Three of those teams are more than capable of beating the Knicks in 5 games.

Every team that makes the playoffs can beat the Knicks. It’s just if they need 4,5,6 or 7 games. Knicks will not get out of the first round. Team composition is weird and Thibs has zero imagination

You might be right, Brunson doesn't even look close to 100% and they heavily rely on him for most of their success.

[Nicnac]

Thibs job is safe this yr. He just tied Red. They will give him at least 2 yrs with this team. He has never taken any responsibility and when we lose it works. The best thing is what Denver did. Maybe the FO will think out of the box but I doubt it. He has major job security. 2 fifty win years in a row.

He deflects so well. Major job security. And he will throw mikal under the bus to save his job for sure. As the third option most of the year. How often has he been featured. OG. has decided to hell with thibs. Thus......